Portable refrigerator.



N0 MODEL.

PORTABLE REFRIGERATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED M1122, 1904.

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PATENTED SEPT. 27, 1904.

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No. 770,969. PATENTED SEPT. 27, 1904.

' E. JOHNS. PORTABLE REPRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22, 1904.

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UNITED STATES Patented September 27', 1904.

PATENT GEEICE.

PORTABLE REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION formngpart of Letters Patent No. 770,969, dated September27, 1904.

Application led March 22, 1904.

To all 'zc/hom, t muy concern:

Be it known that I, EMANUEL JOHNS, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Puyallup, in the county of Pierce and Stateof Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPortable Refrigerators, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to portable refrigerators, and more particularly tothose adapted to the shipping of fruit, berries, and other perishablefoods in the usual open boxes, and has for its objects, rst, to providea shipping'- case in which the ice may be placed and removed withouthaving access to the berrycompartment, and, second, to provide ashipping-case in which the entire interior may be readily removed forcleansing and other purposes. I attain these objects by the devicesillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is avertical section of my refrigerator. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of aportion of theice-compartment, showing the shelfrods hooked thereto.Fig. 3 is a plan of my refrigerator, the top thereof being removed; andFig. 4 is a section of the part of the bottom through which thedrip-tube passes.

Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

The main box of my refrigerator I prefer to construct with double walls,bottom, and lid in order to prevent warping and to keep all the jointsin the wood tight. The walls I have indicated at 1, the bottom at 2, andthe lid at 3. The shape of the box will depend on the shape, size, andnumber of fruit or berry boxes to be shipped. In Fig. 1 I have indicatednine tiers of boxes,4 and as eight boxes can be placed on a tier it isevident that this size refrigerator will hold Six dozen boxes. I have,however, Shown the berryboxes much smaller in proportion to therefrigerator than they would be in actual use in order to more clearlyshow the construction of the refrigerator itself, it being understoodthat the boxes are large enough to prevent too much play between them.

In the center of the refrigerator I place the metallic ice-compartment4, which rests on Serial No. 199,468. (No model.)

the bottom 2 and reaches therefrom to a point near the top of saidrefrigerator. The shape of the ice-box 4 is such as to conform with thatof the refrigerator, so as to leave sufiicient space between it and thesides 1 on all sides, so that the berry-boxes of a certain size may beplaced therein. This ice-compartment 4 is closed at the bottom exceptfor a small drip-tube 5 in its center, said drip-tube fitting in a hole6, provided therefor in the bottom 2 and having a wire or other screenor sieve 7 over its top on the inside on the ice-compartment. The top ofthe ice-compartment is open and fits loosely around thedownwardlyextending flange or sleeve 8, which is secured to the lid 3 ofthe refrigerator, and into this sleeve 8 fits the removable cover 9, bymeans of which access may be had at all times to the ice-compartmentwithout disturbing or being able to reach the fruit in the refrigerator.This cover 9 has two or more Ventilatingholes 10 therein and a handlel1, adapted to fold down on the cover 9.

Io the outside of the ice-compartment 4 are secured, by means of straps12 at suitable heights from the bottom, the wire rings 13, extendingentirely around the compartment and slightly larger than it, so as tostand away from its sides. Two screw-eyes 14 are screwed at each levelof the wires 13 into each side 1 of the refrigerator-box. Thus therewill be eight screw-eyes for each tier, (except the lowest tier, whichrests directly on the bottorn,) or sixty-four screw-eyes in all. In toeach screw-eye 14 is hooked one end of the rod 15, the other end ofwhich is hooked over the wire 13 at the corresponding level. These rods15 consist of a piece of wire which is bent in the same direction ateach end, but which is straight between said bends for a distance equalto that between the wire 13 and the screw-eyes 14. The purpose of thesewires 15 is twofold-to form the supports for the shelves on which theboxes are placed and to hold and brace the ice-compartment in its propercentral position.

The shelves 16, which rest on the above wires 15, are Shaped to conformwith the shape of the box, being narrow enough to pass down therein pastthe screw-eyes 14 and IOO have a central hole shaped to conform with theshape of the ice-compartment 4, but being large enough to pass outsideof the wires 13 and the straps 12.

The cleat 17 passes around the outer edge of the bottom 2 and is uniformin thickness and width. The cleat 18 passes around the lid 3 at adistance from its outer edge equal to the width of the cleat 17. Thisarrangement has two objects: First, if the refrigerator is used as aunit shipping-case the cleat 17 keeps the bottom off the floor of thecar and the cleat 18 keeps articles placed on top of it from damagingthe cover 9, and, second, it enables a number of unit-refrigeratorsto beunited together one above another, the cleats 17 on the bottom of anupper one fitting around the cleats 18 on the lid of the lower one, thuspreventing the units from slipping out of line. In this latterarrangement the covers 9 of the ice-compartments are left off, exceptthe uppermost unit, and the cold water drips from one to the other, andthe cold air of one has access to the next one above instead of warm airhaving access to it, thus effecting economy in ice.

In packing my refrigerator for shipping fruit therein I first place theice-compartment in the refrigerator, .making the drip-tube 5 enter thehole 6 in the bottom 2. Then I place eight boxes of the fruit on thebottom 2 or on cleats thereon. Then I hook one set of eight rods 15 fromthe lowest row of screweyes 14 to the lowest wire 13. Then I take ashelf 16 and pass it down inside the refrigerator around the icecompartment until it rests on the rods 15. On this shelf I then placethe next set of eight boxes of the fruit. Then I repeat the above,building up a shelf and packing the fruit-boxes tier upon tier until allof the refrigerator is occupied. I next place the lid 3 on therefrigerator and lock and seal it and then transfer it to theice-storehouse. Here the cover 9 is removed from the ice-compartment anda quantity of sawdust or other spongy material is placed in the bottomthereof, and on top of this is packed the ice. Then the cover 9 isreplaced and the refrigerator transferred to the shipping-car.

The operation of the refrigerator is briefly as follows: The ice beingcontained in a metallic compartment 4 cools the packing-compartment, andthe air at the top of the icecompartment and the packing-compartment hasfree connection through the space between the top of compartment 4 andthe fiange 8 of the lid 3 and also has free access to theouter airthrough the small holes 10 in the Vcover 9. As the ice melts, the waterfalls to the sawdust and seeps slowly through it, keeping the sawdustintensely cold. Air can of course enter the ice-compartment through thedriptubes 5; but on striking the sawdust it is immediately cooled, andas it can only pass through the layer of sawdust very slowly it isreduced in temperature until it is practically as cold as the airsurrounding the ice by the time it reaches the free ice. I

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. In a portable refrigerator, the combination with apacking-compartment having series of screw-eyes in its inner sidesthereof, of an ice-compartment extending centrally from the bottom tonear the top of the packingcompartment, rings secured to the outside ofsaid ice-compartment at points thereon corresponding to said screw-eyes,rods adapted to hook into said rings and into said screw-eyes to formthe supports for shelves and to brace and hold said ice-compartment inposition, shelves placed on said rods and adapted to receive and supportthe fruit-boxes in said packing-compartment, a lid closing saidpackingcompartment and having a hole therein and cover thereto adaptedto give access to said ice-com partment without giving access to saidpacking-compartment.

2. In a portable refrigerator, the combination with apacking-compartment having series of screw-eyes in its inner sidesthereof, of an ice-compartment extending centrally from the bottom tonear the top of the packingcompartment, rings secured to the outside ofsaid ice-compartment at points thereon corresponding to said screw-eyes,rods adapted to hook with one end into said rings and with the other endinto said screw-eyes to form supi ports for shelves and to brace andhold said ice-compartment in position, shelves placed on said rods andadapted to receive and support the fruit-boxes in saidpacking-compartment,

a lid closing said packing-compartment and having a hole therein andcover thereto, a flange secured to said lid and loosely entering the topof said ice-compartment, and surrounding said hole.

Signed at Tacoma this 24th day of Febru- 110 ary, 1904.

E. JOHNS.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM E. WINDSOR, FREDERIC J. SHAW,

